Exclusive Film: Tod’s Italian Portrait of Mario Ceroli

The luxury brand looks closer at Italian gentlemen and their effortless style

A brand is only ever as cool as its customers, the men wearing their shoes and clothes every day. As such, they are a living advertisement for the lifestyle the designers create. This can of course go both ways and not necessarily benefit the brand’s image, but such is the game of fashion — a constant taste battle between sartorial tastemakers and the general public. Luckily, for Italian luxury house Tod’s, their customers are dead cool. So much so that Tod’s felt obliged to gather a few of them in a book called Italian Portraits.Curated by Donatella Sartorio and edited by Skira Editore, the coffee table tome looks closer at that effortless and laid-back look, although obviously well planned, that we’ve come to associate with Italian gentlemen. It’s an elegant approach to life. Mario Ceroli, a sculptor working with wood and ceramics in his studio outside Rome, perfectly embodies that style. With his relaxed attitude towards life (“I’m 26,950 days old and tomorrow I’ll be 26, 951 days old!”), Ceroli is here seen in this film by Tod’s wandering his studio, casually clad in beige chinos and a denim shirt. Constantly working, never stopping, always living – Ceroli isn’t just a great poster boy for Tod’s but an inspiration to us all.